“I found my best friends at Nyenrode”

In September 2019, Isabella Houtakkers was one of the first graduates of the BSc in Business Administration to receive her diploma. She talks about her experiences at Nyenrode.

The three-year program BSc in Business Administration (BScBA) is the latest degree program from Nyenrode Business University. The internationally oriented business administration degree program of the private university is aimed at students who aspire to play a leading role in tomorrow’s business.

Direct contact

“The great thing about the education at Nyenrode is that it is small-scale, so you get a lot of personal attention and the teachers get to know you well,” says alumna Isabella Houtakkers. “If you have problems, you can go directly to the teacher. That is much less common at other universities.”

Continuously challenged

Isabella found the program academically challenging. “But the most important thing for me at Nyenrode was that I was able to develop myself on a personal level.” she says. “And to see how others in the group developed with me.”

An important part of the curriculum is the Personal Leadership Development Journey that students go through. But Isabella thinks that the intensive student life on campus has contributed greatly to her education. “As a student at Nyenrode, you are continuously challenged on a social level. For example, you learn to deal with people who may initially fit less with your own personality. You have to deal with it and that is very educational.”

Encourage each other

“The student association has many different committees in which you can become active. You spend a lot of time together; no one needs to feel left-out. In addition, the students stimulate each other. If you risk spending too little time on your studies, others will point out that if you wish to pass the next exams you should get started. But student life on campus may not be for everyone, Isabella thinks. “It has to suit you. There is a lot of social control on campus, you are almost never alone.”

“The network you build up during your studies is also very valuable for the future. For that reason, I would also recommend the BScBA to others. I think I found my best friends at Nyenrode.”

After Nyenrode

After her bachelor’s degree at Nyenrode, Isabella started her Master in finance at EADA, a business school in Barcelona which is comparable in size to Nyenrode, but no campus.

Due to the corona crisis, Isabella is now forced to return to the Netherlands. “It was very sudden, and I had a very double feeling of having to leave,” she says. “I am currently taking online courses and I can also take my exams online. It is now chaos in Spain and that is why I am actually happy to be back at my parents’ home in the Netherlands. Even though I miss my friends and my life there very much.”